Exotica

1994

Drama / Mystery / Romance

Synopsis

This psychological thriller is true to its subjects as well as being complex, dynamic, and overly dramatic. How something so long ago, seemingly trivial, years later with more significant trauma, turns repressed emotions into a dysfunctional life and distorted thinking. This is all merged into a psychological menagerie that unfolds piece by piece to perfection.

This psychological thriller is true to its subjects as well as being complex, dynamic, and overly dramatic. How something so long ago, seemingly trivial, years later with more significant trauma, turns repressed emotions into a dysfunctional life and distorted thinking. This is all merged into a psychological menagerie that unfolds piece by piece to perfection.

Movie Reviews

A poetic Masterpiece and Monument

Exotica raises the question of our existence, what we are supposed to do on Earth as humans. And this as a subtext in a perfect narration of people whose paths come together in the "Exotica".

There is no other film that contains such poetic but accurate dialogues. In this artwork, every spoken word has a meaning in relation to the meta-narrative.

The very good work with the music motifs and the location, merged with the film dialogues, give the film an atmosphere that is neither sad nor happy, but exceptionally gorgeous and yet earthly.

I'm very thankful to see this wise movie.

Reviewed by avik-basu18898 / 10

Human Beings and their Sorrows !!!

'Exotica' is a film that exists in a realm that can be called elevated reality. This is because neither is the narrative fully grounded in hardcore realism, nor does it expect the viewer to suspend disbelief completely. The movie remains suspended in between hardcore realism and fantasy fiction, which ends up giving it a tone of poetic realism.

Thematically the film is primarily about grief, emotional baggage and the lasting effect that sorrow can have in a person's life. The opening line of dialogue is - 'You have to ask yourself, what brought this person to this point?' I think this line very succinctly summarises the film. We come across various characters who are engaged in various activities. Director Atom Egoyan slowly and gradually divulges secrets about their past lives and slowly we get to understand what baggage all these characters carry and how they are connected to each other, some directly, some tangentially. We come to understand that all these characters have had incidents happen to them in the past which have shaped and molded their present. In order to deal with grief and past trauma, some characters have had to adopt options that many people might call objectionable and morally questionable. This is where Egoyan lends an air of humanism to the film as he tries to understand why and what circumstance will compel someone to choose to do something morally problematic(like spending every night in a strip club and watching a young girl dressed in a schoolgirl's uniform dance for you) instead of judging them for their choices.

Another prominent thematic element in the film is the presence of a constant series of 'transactions'. Characters constantly engage in transactions and exchange favours from one another like the transaction between Francis and Christina, the contract between Zoe and Eric, the agreement between Francis and Tracey, the exchange of ballet tickets between Thomas and the random strangers at the ballet performances,etc. The root cause of these transactions is again the need for people to get to terms with their grief, their loneliness and their lives as a whole.

The film is called 'Exotica' because the strip club called 'Exotica' plays a central role in the film. But why did Egoyan decide to name the strip club as well as the film 'Exotica'? Whenever someone hears the term exotic there is a tendency to equate it with something sexual. However it has to be said, that the scenes in the strip club aren't really very sexy or alluring. So again the question stands, why is the film called 'Exotica'? My interpretation of the name goes like this - 'exotic' in the true sense of the word means something that seems unfamiliar to a person's usual existence. In the scenes inside the strip club, what is noticeable is that instead of focusing on the naked dancers, Egoyan devotes a lot of shots to capturing the faces of the male clients who sit at all the tables, one of them being Francis himself. Something that is easily visible is the look of acute indifference on the faces of these men. Yes they are appreciating the ladies dancing for them, but one can see the indifference in their eyes which is hiding some sort of latent sadness. This gets explored more deeply through the exploration of the character of Francis. So, this strip club is sort of like the garden of Eden for these men(the trees and palms give the club a distinctive look too) where they come to escape from their real sadness to enjoy a few moments of planned make- believe. Since the club gives them an experience which gives the men a relief from their tough realities, it is called 'Exotica' and since the major characters in the film go out of their way to cope with the grim realities of their lives, it is only natural that the film will be called the same too.

The primary score composed by Mychael Danna is just perfect as it so beautifully captures the tone of the film. The score certainly sounds exotic and has a distinct Middle-Eastern vibe to it which lends it a bit of a seductive aura. However, beneath the seductive edge, one can also very distinctly notice a melancholic core that enriches the score.

Performance wise I think everyone is brilliant. But I'll give a special mention to Bruce Greenwood and Mia Kirshner. Bruce Greenwood exudes and lends so much sensitivity to Francis and makes him an absolutely heartbreaking character.

'Exotica' is a film about people with grieving hearts who are compelled to engage in transactions and make compromises in order to cope with their severely distressing lives. It is a very humane film that tries to understand the characters instead of judging them. Highly Recommended.

Reviewed by Platypuschow2 / 10

Exotica: 103 minutes of merciless boredom

With a cast of familiar faces this thriller/drama goes nowhere fast in fact I'm not sure it goes anywhere at all. Lifeless, dull, ridiculously ungripping and considering half the film is set in a strip joint not even visually appealing! The last time I was this bored watching a film it was the critically acclaimed Inception (2010) the film that bred a new type of pseudo intellectual movie fan with the moniker of "If you don't like it you didn't understand it" Well I understood that over-convoluted mess and I still didn't like it.

Exotica brings nothing to the table, not even a young Mia Kirchner stripping in a school girl outfit could turn this embarrassment around.